Howl of the Lioness
by ishmegan
Summary: Hoping to get away from the media backlash after the arrest of her brother, Audrey Cacuzza flees to Charming only to realize you can't outrun the life you're born into.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I have edited this as well as the first chapter and have begun a re-write of what I had. Expect to see more of this now, and as always let me know what you think!

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><p><strong>Howl of the Lioness.<br>**_"Other things may change us,_  
><em>but we start and end with family."<em>**  
><strong>_Anthony Brandt_

_..._

Prologue

* * *

><p><strong>Los Angeles, CA<br>April 19****th****, 2007 **

_"Today marks a victory for the F.B.I., as they were able to apprehend Sam "Junior" Cacuzza early this morning. Agents moved in to make the arrest at the home of Jimmy Cacuzza, the father of the detainee. The charges for Cacuzza's arrest have not yet been released…"_

Audrey hit mute and tossed the remote to the nearest couch unable to believe that this bullshit had already been spread across every news station in America when she had only just arrived home ten minutes ago. To this day, after countless other headlines involving her family name, it still astounded her how fast the news got out.

What further frustrated her was that the Cacuzza name had been out of the news for over a year. She had finally stopped receiving questionable stares from the bank patrons while she worked, had finally stopped hearing the whispers as she shopped for her groceries. She knew that eventually it would come, that some allegations would tarnish her good fortuned streak, but an arrest? That was much worse.

Several hours ago she had been gathering her things and getting ready to leave her parents' house for the evening. Her cheeks had been sore from laughing, her eyelids beginning to droop as the exhaustion started to set in. An eventful family dinner as always. Though just as she had been reaching for the door someone had banged loudly on it from the other side several times. The action had startled her and she froze. Her eldest brother, Anthony, brushed passed her and pulled the door open to those impatiently waiting.

Audrey was barely able to register everything that had happened next, though the newly arrived flashing lights of the cop cars had become the most evident. Half a dozen men rushed through the doorway and made their way through the house, hollering for Junior to make himself present. She stood still in her spot, her heart beating erratically in her chest. Tears sprang to her eyes as Junior was being pushed passed her, his hands bound behind him with his arms firmly gripped by two federal agents. At last energy surged through her and she hurriedly followed the men out onto the front lawn. She watched as they stuffed her brother inside one of the many vehicles that was lining the street in front of her parents' house. Her attention was pulled away from the scene as another man stood before her, asking her if she could follow him to be asked a few routine questions. She nodded silently, and was only able to give him a few short answers.

As the street cleared of all the unwanted visitors Audrey remained still, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. Her grandmother, Isabel Cacuzza, or more affectionately known as Nonna, had made her way over and wrapped her arms around the young woman's shoulders. Audrey's body shook as she was being held, unable to keep her composure any longer. Slowly the two of them made their way back inside the house, rejoining those who remained from the festivities of earlier in the evening.

Audrey could see that her father was livid as he stormed away listening to the information being given to him on the other end of the phone that was pressed firmly against his ear. Her other two brothers followed him out of the room, a meeting was sure to be taking place within the next half an hour.

Isabel led her granddaughter to the couch and sat her down before she rushed off to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water. Audrey looked to her mother who was hysterically recounting the events to someone on the phone, probably one of her close friends, a wife of a man who worked alongside her brothers and father.

For hours she sat on the couch in living room with her mother, Natalie, and her Nonna recounting the events to those who would call as news travelled amongst all the families they were connected to. She could no longer cry, and her voice became vacant of any emotion as she told her story to the "friends" this life had supplied her with.

Soon people started showing up, offering care and support to the three women as the men gathered to discuss what would happen next. From time to time they could hear them yelling, working out how this could have happened.

Audrey watched as the group of women migrated to the kitchen and started to cook. What they were cooking for, Audrey didn't know. As far as she was concerned she couldn't even stomach the idea of food. With a deep breath she quickly grabbed her things, leaving while they were distracted.

She contemplated pouring herself a glass of wine. Though she could use it, it was far too early in the morning for anything like that. But her eyes fell to the television's screen once more. Fuck it; no one was here to judge her.

Then as she leaned against her kitchen counter, her wine glass firmly in hand, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Why did I just get a phone call from Joseph saying that Junior was arrested?"

"Because that's what happened, Mona."

"Mind your tone," the elder woman on the other end of the line snapped. "That's not what I was asking. Why did _Joseph_ call me, and not you? Did you not think that I would want to know that my grandson just got carted off to prison?"

Audrey remained silent. She knew she should have called Ramona; right after everything happened she should have picked up her phone and dialled her number. It wasn't as if anyone in the family hadn't been arrested before. They had all been through this process in some way or another, really there was no real reason why she shouldn't have been able to pick up the phone to call her, they all had a routine they followed — a plan of action so to speak.

Ramona and Audrey shared a very strong bond, ever since Audrey was three years old and waddling around in pink and white frilly dresses with matching shoes. She had taken an immediate liking to her mother's mother, always wanting to recount to the older woman what happened during her day, and always wanting to hear stories from her younger and more adventurous years. Then when Mona had made the decision to move away, to a smaller town that held no distinct connection to the family once her husband had passed, Audrey was the one to help and make sure she settled in okay. She was the one who called and checked in on her and whenever something like this morning's events occurred everyone knew that Audrey would be the one to call and inform her, that it was only right she did.

"Audrey, are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, I really am. I know that I should have called, I just…" She let the sentence hang in the air, unable to find the words to explain everything she was feeling. "Wait, why _did_ Joseph call you?"

"He asked if I had heard from you." Her grandmother tutted. "For some strange reason they were worried about you when you just up and disappeared from them after everything that happened last night." Audrey winced internally at her grandmother's tone, knowing she wasn't happy with her actions and she didn't blame her. She knew they were disrespectful before she even carried through, however her mind was torn on what was right for her and what was best for the family, and for once she decided to be selfish.

"Don't worry 'bout them though, I dealt with it." Ramona said, interrupting her train of thought. "But you better tell me what's going on with you."

"I think— No, I know that I'm tired of all of this." Audrey poured more wine into her glass and took a sip. "It just got to me, watching it all happen after such a quiet year. I mean for a while things finally started to feel normal, and now it's happening all over again. My face actually ended up in this morning's paper, I'm standing on the front lawn like an idiot while he's getting dragged away."

"Audrey, cara, everything is going to be fine, you have so many people that are here for you." The tone of her voice changed, becoming that soothing and comforting sound she craved in times like these. "You know that."

"I don't know if that's enough anymore. How much longer am I going to have to deal with people looking at me and thinking '_she's _his _daughter, she's a Cacuzza_', calling me names, wishing ill on me and my family."

"Then what is it you want? You know I'll do what I can to help you."

"You have still have that guest room in your house, right?"


	2. One: Settling In

**A/N**: This has been edited and some parts were re-worked. From here on out the rest has been and is being re-written. Expect to see more of this, and as always let me know what you think!

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><p><strong>Howl of the Lioness.<br>**_"Birds sing after a storm. Why shouldn't  
>people feel as free to delight in<br>whatever sunlight remains to them?"  
>Rose Kennedy<em>

_..._

Chapter One: Settling In

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><p><strong>Charming, CA<br>April 27****th****, 2007**

It was early in the morning and Audrey sat atop the steps of the front porch to Mona's house, now her temporary place of residence. She held a cup of coffee with both hands while her elbows rested on her thighs, the heat emanating through the ceramic mug was keeping her fingers warm in the slight chill of the air. Late the previous night she had finally unpacked the last of the things that she had brought with her and now she had no idea what to do.

Audrey was disappointed in herself having let this arrest get to her so badly, she knew that she let her father down with the way she was acting. Once again she let her emotions get the better of her, only this was more than just another yelling match in her father's office this time around. Her decision to come here was rash, irresponsible, and incredibly selfish, she could only imagine the reaction her family was having to her disappearing act. An act usually reserved for the unfaithful and rats. Not only that, but what her decision would mean to everyone else, how the papers were going to spin it, what the other families would think of her. Ungrateful maybe, a coward possibly, but her loyalty would definitely be questioned. In a desperate fit to keep her recently acclaimed normalcy she had only made everything worse. Mona had assured her that she could hold her family off for the time being and try to make them understand that she required this space after years of remaining as silent and unseen as she could possibly be.

There were two options when growing up in this lifestyle, one could choose to embrace it and follow the rules religiously, as her brothers did. Or one could choose to ignore it, which she did as much as she could. As a child she was enamoured by it, everything seemed so luxurious and glamorous back then. Now all she could see was the risk, and the blood that stained everything. It was easier for her to pick the latter of the options, to ignore what she could as an adult, as she wasn't male and couldn't be fully involved in the business in the same way that her brothers were. She knew many daughters of the men that worked for her father who did choose to embrace it, they would seek out other men in the business, vying to become their wives and live diligently under the rules while they were showered with perks and expensive gifts. Audrey held nothing against the women who made that choice, she just simply never appreciated the attitude their self-entitlement created, nor did she want to be so co-dependent on a man.

Ignoring what her family did for a living had become easy, but the pressure of the public was entirely different. Audrey knew of the business, but she was never given the specifics. At home she could pretend that her family was just a normal everyday Italian family and that nothing criminal was conspiring. But when the feds were investigating and the newspapers started printing stories life got a little more complicated. People would look at her differently, assume that she was in the know that she was part of it. Though that was far from true, because even if she had made the other choice she would have had very little say in matters. That never stopped the masses from saying what they did. Audrey kept her head high and took whatever blows came at her, she never made a single comment to the press, never complained, and when her family was under the scope of the law she kept a bit of distance as to not end up in the eye of the media herself.

She had always handled these events with grace, she was calm and collected, and many of the other women respected her for it. Why everything had to fall apart this time, she had no idea. Maybe it was the shock of it all, the fact that it had been so quiet and nothing hinted at a possible investigation or arrest. Perhaps it was because Junior had been the one to get arrested this time, she was closest to him out of her three brothers. Or it could have been because after all these years she couldn't keep her feelings on these matters buried any longer. Whatever it was it all lead to her head being a jumbled mess, and the only part that made any sense was asking Mona for the spare room.

Ramona hated to see her granddaughter like this, so torn up when they both knew she had made the right decision for herself. Mona had been there before, back in the earlier years of her life, when she had to think more about her husband and the business than her own well being. Many of her own decisions had been based on what her father wanted, or what her husband wanted, and though she loved both men dearly, there were many times when she had regretted her actions. She could see Audrey having a similar battle with herself. Torn between what she wanted and what the lifestyle wanted of her.

"Cara, what are you doing up so early?"

Audrey looked back over her shoulder to see her grandmother standing in the doorway, holding a cup of coffee as well. "Just thinking."

"It's alright, Audrey."

"It was selfish."

"Yes, it was. But you can't undo what you've done." Ramona moved from her spot to sit down beside her. "Sometimes though, you have to be a little selfish. I was when I married your grandfather and came to California. My father told me not to, but I did it anyway. Eventually everything worked out, and everything will work itself out now too."

"But-"

"No 'buts', Audrey." Ramona put her coffee cup down before turning toward Audrey and putting aside hers as well. She then grabbed hold of both her hands, "you were right. No one could expect you to deal with all that backlash forever. You have your own life to live, you were always going to go down a different path than your brothers. So please, stop worrying about this."

"But the press, and the—" Audrey sighed before nodding her head at Mona's harsh gaze. She was right, as always. "How did I get so lucky to have you as my grandmother, Mona?"

She wrapped her arms around the older woman, holding her closely for a few seconds while telling her that she loved her. Ramona smiled, returning her words before she rubbed her back soothingly with one hand and picking her coffee back up with the other. "Now, what do you plan on doing today?"

"I don't really know, I didn't exactly plan that far ahead."

"Well, why don't you go for a walk, explore a little bit and then pick up some things for dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Ramona smiled and gave her a light kiss on the head. She then stood up and made her way back into the house, leaving Audrey to think over her words once more.

After a few more minutes and once her coffee was done she decided she would get ready for the day. She first took her time in the shower, letting the hot water sooth her and take away all the negative thoughts she had with it as it circled its way down the drain. Once she was done, and feeling a little bit better about her current situation, Audrey slipped on a pair of fitted jeans with holes in the knees, a brightly coloured tank-top, and a light knit grey cardigan. She kept her dark hair down in its loose curls, but added a small decorative headband. Then, after tucking the ring she wore on a chain around her neck under the neckline of her shirt, she made her way downstairs to let Mona know that she would be heading out.

A pair of ballet flats adorning her feet, Audrey made her way out the door to start her journey here in Charming.

**…**

A couple hours later, and having seen what Charming had to offer, Audrey was hungry. It was only about eleven-thirty, but after waking up early and not having much of a breakfast she was starved. She had noted that there was a diner on the corner one street over from where she was now and decided that she would make her way back over there.

The door chimed as she entered, catching the attention of the girl serving coffee behind the counter. The waitress held up her finger, signalling that she would be over in a minute. Audrey waited and watched as the girl made her way over, grabbing a menu on the way, before she followed her to a booth. The girl told her name was Lydia and that she would be back shortly to take her order.

Ten minutes later she was comfortably enjoying a cup of coffee and awaiting her order of pancakes when the door chimed open and a rowdy group a men stumbled through. They were laughing at something that one of them said, a few playfully shoving another as they made other short remarks. She noticed that the waitress "Lydia" seemed to be in much better spirits now since they entered, though Audrey couldn't understand why as they didn't appear to be anything spectacular. Sure they all seemed to have one thing in common, and that was the leather vests sporting an image of a reaper they were wearing, meaning that they must have be pretty known in the area. But other than that, they were a group of roughed up looking guys, tattoos adorning their skin and facial hair. Definitely not her type.

Soon the group of them were seated in the booth next to her, her back facing them. Audrey took another sip of coffee, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket to keep herself busy.

_13 new text messages. 9 missed calls. _All within the past twenty-four hours. She sighed as she deleted them all and put her phone down on the table. Just as soon as she pulled her hand away from the device it vibrated. Picking it up and looking at the screen she bit her lip.

"Hey Anthony," Audrey greeted her eldest brother.

"_You finally decided to pick up, huh?_"

"I was gonna call you back… I've just been busy here, y'know, settling in?"

"_What the hell you doing there anyway, Drey_?" he questioned, using the nickname he had given her when she was little. "_We need you here. The kids need their aunt, Ma's freaking out, and Dad is fuckin' pissed. What were you thinkin' taking off like that_?"

"You don't think that maybe I'm having a difficult time with all of this? That maybe I need space away from all the press?" Audrey tried not to yell, being that she was in a public place and she didn't want to disturb the families that were eating there.

"_You know how it goes, Drey. This is nothing new._"

"That doesn't mean that I like it. I just needed to be somewhere where I can breathe."

"_You can do that here._"

"No, I can't."

"_What the hell, Audrey? Yes you can, now get your ass back home and do what you're supposed to!_"

"I am doing what I'm supposed to." She snapped, using Mona's advice from earlier in the morning. "My place isn't in Los Angeles anymore."

"_And you think it is in that shit hole?_" He yelled and she had to pull the phone away from her ear. "_This is ridiculous. You have commitments here Audrey, or did you forget?_"

"You know, last I checked you're not in charge of me," she spat. "Looks like I live in Charming now, so fuck you and deal with it."

"_Audrey-_" she hit the end button before he could get another word in.

She sat in her booth glaring at her phone. Her father was going to be furious when he found out about the conversation she just had with her brother. Not only was she disrespectful but he was right, she did have commitments back in Los Angeles that she tossed aside for herself.

Lydia finally brought over her pancakes, derailing her from her train of thought. Much of her appetite was gone by this point, but if she didn't at least eat something Mona would give her an earful.

"Oh Jax, stop!" she heard Lydia giggle a little too loudly from behind her. Great, not only did she have to deal with a phone call from her brother ruining her quiet lunch, but now she was going to be forced to listen to this girl's pathetic excuse of flirting.

"But it's true, darlin'." The guy she assumed to be "_Jax_" replied.

"Well then thank you, hun." Audrey rolled her eyes.

"Anytime, now why don't you run along and grab us s'more coffee?"

"Of course, be right back!"

She saw as Lydia rushed by her heading toward the kitchen before she glanced over at the group. "I'm really hoping you're only charming her in hopes of getting free food. 'Cause fucking jailbait is really not an attractive trait in a guy." Audrey mentally slapped herself after the words escaped passed her lips. She really needed to get a better handle on her emotions; letting her anger walk and talk for her was definitely not the best habit to pick up and start now.

The group of men stared at her wide-eyed, not having expected her to make a comment, before a smile spread across the face of the blonde haired one sitting on the outside edge. As he let out a laugh the rest of the guys joined in. "Well aren't you a observant little thing. How'd you guess?"

"I have three brothers, they've done the same sort of thing."

"It is a good trick, I'm Jax," he smirked, confirming her assumptions in his identity, "and that's Chibs, Bobby, and Juice." He introduced pointing to the three others sitting with him. The first had scars on both cheeks, the second was an older man with wild, curly and greyed hair, and the final one had a mohawk with tribal tattoos on either side of his head.

"Audrey."


	3. Two: Making Friends

**A/N:** It has been absolutely amazing to see renewed interest in this story! But please don't be shy, feel free to let me know what you think by either leaving a review or contacting me on my tumblr (which a link can be found on my profile). Much love, and enjoy!

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><p><strong>Howl of the Lioness.<br>**_"Although the world is full of suffering,_  
><em>it is also full of overcoming it."<em>**  
><strong>_Helen Keller_

_..._

Chapter Two: Making Friends

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><p><strong>Charming, CA<br>May 19****th****, 2007 **

"Take care and have a nice day." The fake smile Audrey had plastered on her face faded as she watched the back of her last patron walk away from her station on the Teller Line. She took a deep breath before she moved the potted plant to the centre of her counter to indicate that this station was now closed. After she cleaned up the scattered paper and pens she slipped her feet back into her nude coloured pumps then made her way into the back room.

"Oh my god, Audrey, that last guy you had was a real piece of work. I don't understand how you do it." Her friend, Cheryl, said.

"To be honest, it took everything in me not to leap over that counter." The two women giggled before gathering their purses and heading out the back door of the building.

"Alright so I'm thinking a bottle of wine, a pint of ice cream, and a horror movie tonight?" Cheryl suggested as they made their way down the street to where she had parked her car earlier that morning. "Sound good to you?"

"As long as it's not chocolate ice cream again. Maybe strawberry this time?"

"What do you have against chocolate? It's a classic!"

"It would be the fourth pint of chocolate in row. I'm all for drowning our sorrows in wine and ice cream, but a little variety never hurt anyone did it?" She shot a playful smile at her friend as they stopped at the car.

"Well then how about Neapolitan? I still get chocolate, and you have two other flavours to choose from." Cheryl compromised as they slid into the leather seats of her Toyota Corolla. "Including _strawberry._"

Audrey agreed with a laugh and a nod of her head as she buckled herself in.

She had never thought it to be possible, to find the one thing she had craved for so many years, a normal life free of the chaos that followed her family like a shadow. Yet here she was on her way to the store with Cheryl Davis to pick up a pint of ice cream before the two of them settled in for a night curled up on the couch together in sweatpants watching cheesy romantic comedies and complaining about the unfairness of it all.

While a night like the one the two women had planned was still possible back home with her childhood friends and family, the lifestyle still loomed over them all. Audrey had always been acutely aware of which brother was home and which was not, or how long her father had been out the night before, and the smell of stale smoke and blood wafting through the room whenever she went to greet one of them. The life was just as present in the room as anyone else was, the only difference was that it couldn't be mentioned. It was there, it always would be, and that was simply a fact that had to be accepted.

The store at five o'clock on a Friday evening was an absolute zoo, and Audrey groaned at the sight of the check-out line, her feet were sore and she didn't want to be on her feet anymore than she had to. Cheryl was driving, making it Audrey's responsibility to pop in, and she cursed her mentally for it. At this moment she wanted nothing more than to be comfortable, to let the stress slip away with every bite of ice cream and sip of wine until it became non-existent for her weekend. This queue was getting in the way of that and she was less than impressed about it.

She quickly navigated the aisles until she arrived at the frozen foods, scanning for the tub of frozen and oh so tempting dessert that was already making her mouth water in anticipation. Audrey had been so caught up in her own head that she had failed to register the other body coming toward her, and it was only when they reached for the same item on the cold, refrigerated shelf that she realized someone else was there.

Jumping back startled, she placed a hand over her chest as she took a couple of deep breaths.

"Sorry, darlin', didn't mean to startle ya'."

With a roll of her eyes, Audrey's demeanour relaxed as she came face to face with Jackson Teller — or Jax as he kept trying to urge her to call him.

"Jesus _Christ_," she let out as she reached for the pint of ice cream he was now holding out to her. "You'd think with that get-up you'd make a little bit more noise or something."

Since her brief meeting with a few members of the Sons of Anarchy in the diner a few weeks ago, Audrey had managed to bump into Jax a handful of times. One of those chance encounters had been while she was at work, he needed access into a safety deposit box and she just so happened to be the only one available to get him the help that he required. He of course tried to lay on the charm, it seemed to just roll off of him in waves no matter the situation, but she knew the type too well to fall for it.

Her brothers were very similar, as were most of the men in their immediate circle who tried to get into her pants. A lot of their act was in part due to the way that they were raised and the world that all fell into, and while some of it was harmless she knew that none of it was sincere. Men like her brothers, like Jackson Teller, knew what they want and how to get it without being seen as the bad guy, and to her that somehow seemed more dangerous than those who could be outright lecherous.

"I wasn't tryin' to be quiet," he smirked back while going back into the freezer for another container for himself. "I was actually moving to catch up with ya', but you were a woman on a mission."

"It's Friday, and I just want to relax." She shrugged, "work was a bit of a bitch."

"The best of Charmin' gettin' to ya'?"

"Why some people here feel so entitled, I will never know." Audrey readjusted the strap of her purse as she turned to start making her way to the shortest line of the three open cash registers. "Didn't take you for an ice cream kind of guy." She tossed back over her shoulder as she heard him start to follow.

"It's not for me, it's for the wife."

She had to stop and turn at that, "the wife?"

Jax nodded, a bemused smile gracing his face. "Yeah, the wife."

"_You're_ married?" she blurted out before snapping her mouth shut. Having a wife was certainly not something she had expected, especially since he had made no mention of her before now, or how he had previously interacted with her.

"_You're_ surprised?" He mocked back, a slight chuckle coming from him afterward as he started making his way over to the check-out once more.

Audrey moved quickly to catch up with him. "Well I— you just— you don't wear a ring for it or anything." She stumbled over her words as she stood next to him in line.

He shrugged as he grabbed her container from her hands and placing it on the conveyer belt beside his own. "It's complicated."

Audrey nodded, knowing better than to ask any further questions. She was curious, sure, but his business wasn't her place regardless of how friendly he was. His marital status was personal, and if they tables were flipped she wouldn't want to offer up the same information unless it was her decision either.

"Oh, no, Jackson—"

"Jax, darlin'." He interrupted.

"_Jax_," she stressed with mock exasperation. While he had introduced himself as Jax, and repeatedly told her otherwise when she referred to him as Jackson, she preferred using his full given name. Ever since she saw it in the document when he popped by the bank she had thought that it sounded much nicer and less harsh than 'Jax' did. Whether he believed it or not, it suited him better, and as long as she kept running into him she planned to use it. "I can pay for that myself."

"Wasn't sayin' that you can't."

For the second time she rolled her eyes at him, "then what are you doing?"

He smiled down at her and shook his head, "Makin' a shit day better."

"No, I get that, but why?"

His phone must of vibrated in his pocket because next thing she knew he had it pulled up to his ear and his attention had been stolen before Audrey could receive an answer, which seemed to put an end to their conversation. Jax paid for both, and handed hers off to her in a separate bag before bidding her a good evening, returning to his call, and taking off. She stood at the end of the check-out perplexed for half a minute before she started walking back out to Cheryl's car.

"Well, took you long enough." Cheryl remarked as the brunette buckled herself back into the passenger seat. Though it didn't appear as though Audrey had heard her. "Hey, Earth to the space cadet! What kept you?"

"Oh, hmm?" She turned to face Cheryl, catching the tail end of the biker riding off down the street in the distance through the window. "I, uh, ran into Jackson Teller."

"Jax Teller?" Cheryl asked wide-eyed. "I saw him walk out— you know him?"

Audrey relaxed in her seat a bit, kicking her shoes off finally in the process. She breathed a sigh of relief before answering, "I've seen him around a couple times." She shrugged. "Helped him at the bank once, why?"

"You know he's part of that motorcycle gang, right?"

"Sons of Anarchy," she replied. "Yeah, I can read."

"That doesn't intimidate you?"

She tried her best not to outright laugh in Cheryl's face. Audrey understood why her friend would think that maybe she should be a little frightened or intimidated by Jax and the rest of them. From conversations she had overheard around town since arriving most were either afraid of them or held quite a bit of respect for them. Their presence proved to be pretty huge thus far, reinforced by the fact that Audrey had run into Jax more times than she had ever expected to already. Of course Cheryl didn't know much about her family tree, or history — and she planned to keep it that way — so instead of laughing Audrey shook her head, chuckled a bit and smiled.

"Should it? He's been nothing but nice to me."

Cheryl bit her lip before turning to back to start the engine. "Yeah, but they have a bit of a reputation around here."

"So?"

"They're dangerous, Audrey."

"I get that you grew up here, and you know more than I do about them, but I don't have any proof of anything they did. It's all hearsay to me — I heard from a friend of a friend, or this happened to my cousin's cousin type shit — and I'm not about to judge someone and treat them a certain way because of what others think they know." _Especially not after the fact that everyone used to do exactly that to me_, she thought.

Her friend scoffed, "and that is exactly the kind of thinking that gets you into trouble with them."

"I'm not looking to be in with their crowd, or best friends, or fuck… anything at all with them." She sighed, "But I don't have a reason to be rude, or scared either."

Cheryl shot her a worried glance. "Just, promise you'll be careful if you plan to keep on talking to Jax."

"I'm not planning anything," she pointed out, though Cheryl sighed in response. "Alright, alright. I promise."


End file.
